RYANAIR - Foreign Pilots
 

I think I recall some time back that Ryanair was using US aircrew, albeit on a contract basis. How did this work as far as right to live and work go? Were there not enough F/Os that could be upgraded? Also the licence issue - did/do these guys fly on validations?
Before I have to don a tin hat - no I am not an American trying to nick European jobs. Just trying to get a feel for the exact demand for crew at Ryanair and how the whole different packages for different people thing works.

I don't remember American crew .

Yes there have been a handfull of American pilots with Ryanair. Some may have had ancestral rights but others had work permits obtained by a lawyer specialising in immigration issues and flew on validations. Pretty much all these guys were here on a temporary basis, at least in their own minds, and then were hoping to return from furlow to their old companies. I think the US pilot thing amongst Ryanair managers was a fruitless exercise and probably wont be repeated.

Ryanair do these little excursions from time to time to places such as the U.S., Bulgaria, etc. when they see the opportunity of picking up some cheap pilots due to local difficulties, a local airline going bust, etc. The last U.S. sortie was in Miami where they got around 35-40 for interview, many of them not from the U.S. (e.g. South America). A surprising percentage were offered a job. Few accepted and if they actually got here they have been absorbed somewhere.

The latest target is Scandanavia where the SAS breakup offers FR the opportunity of solving a whole series of problems. The current fuss over "5 on 4 off" is partly generated by a desire to attract a large group of these pilots. Ryanair has quite a few problems, as we all know. It is just not clear which one is worst. Certainly there is a serious lack of captains or promotable F/Os. FR also need external crews and recruitment to keep the current bunch of pilots under pressure to accept their T&Cs, so external recruitment will continue. What a fun bunch! (If you are even thinking of working for them in 1% of your brain, just find the thread about the "Guide to Working in FR" or words along those lines).